1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved fishing lure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fishing lures have traditionally been made either of hard or rigid materials, such as metal or hard plastic or of a resiliant material such as plastic or rubber. The resilient materials are preferred by many fishermen because of the versatility in shape and coloration and more natural action of the lures, due to their flexibility. For example, lures of resiliant materials can be made to similate the natural prey of fish, such as worms, shrimp, shad, lizard or small bugs, and they also can be appropriately colored. Alternatively, the resilient materials may be made of a highly attractive color and have any geometric configuration. They are relatively inexpensive to produce. The metal lures, in contradistinction, are generally formed only in a geometric configuration known as a "spoon". These metal lures must then generally be colored, for example, by lacquering, or treated to stay shiny so as to attract the attention of the fish.
While each of these types of lures is well known for its advantages, they have their respective disadvantages. The flexible plastic lures are generally rather light in weight (low mass) and therefore are difficult to cast to achieve any distance and degree of accuracy in lure placement. They tend to rise towards the surface as they are pulled through the water and thus may not stay at a depth suitable for attracting fish. They also lack strength and may be torn apart by a partial strike or by encountering a submerged snag. The metal lures, on the other hand, have the necessary strength and weight (high mass) but lack variety and realism in shape, color and action.
There have been many attempts to deal with the above described deficiencies of the prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,132 to Kotis describes a lure in which a metal plate is intergally molded into a body of resilient plastic or rubber material. The advantage of the Kotis lure is that the line and hook can be attached to the metal plate, which provides both the strength and weight for the lure, while the resilient body can have the desired configuration and/or coloring. The primary disadvantage of the Kotis lure is that it is quite expensive to manufacture and, should the body portion be damaged in any way, it is irreplaceable.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,345 to Reininger et al concerns modifying a spoon lure by providing a sleeve or covering over it. However, this sleeve merely covers the metal spoon with a thin-walled member to achieve the coloration or to maintain the shininess as desired. The shape and weight are determined by the existing lure.
A third type of lure is a two-part assembly, one part being a weighted head/hook member and the other a flexible body of plastic or rubber material. These are available in three styles, namely a permanently assembled head/hook member and flexible body, a factory assembled head/hook member and flexible body, and a kit of a head/hook member and one or more flexible bodies. The first style has the previously mentioned disadvantage of being incapable of being repaired should the flexible body be damaged by a partial strike or the like. The second style has the problem of the lure body tending to separate from the head/hook member during service and causing major problems. The third style has the problem of inserting the hook through the body with sufficient care to end up with a satisfactory looking lure that would compare to a factory assembled lure. The lure bodies of such kits are solid (and often opaque) and have no means to assist one in properly inserting a hook into the body. It is very easy to result in a misassembly with the body not meeting the head and/or the hook extending asymmetrically from the side of the body.